Paint tube package



May 21, 1968 A. M. FRANCO PAINT TUBE PACKAGE Filed Jan. 50, 1967 1 llh.

INVENTOR. 011 7661 77. .Fkaneo BY W A' YTOENEKS'.

United States Patent York Filed Jan. 30, 1967, Ser. No. 612,491 4Claims. (Cl. 206-46) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention isdirected to protective packaging for tubes of artists paints or othersemi-liquid materials in which an axially collapsible outer sleeve ortube of paperboard is provided adjacent one end with inwardly deformableflaps engageable beneath the lip of the paint tube cap to prevent axialmovement of the paint tube in one direction and to assist in theprevention of its axial movement in the opposite direction, there beingnotches at the other end of the sleeve that receive the ends of the fiatcrimped seal of the paint tube as a further restraint against movementin such opposite direction.

This invention relates generally to new and useful improvements inprotective packaging for fragile or deformable articles and particularlyseeks to provide a novel protective sleeve for squeeze tubes of artistspaints or other semi-liquid or paste-like materials in which means areprovided for restraining the tube against axial movement in eitherdirection and for preventing rotation of the tube within the sleeve.

This invention also relates to a novel method of applying the protectivesleeve to the paint tube.

Heretofore many types of so-called collapsible cartons have beenproposed in which portions of the side walls are inwardly deformable todefine end closures or inner partitions when the erected cartons areaxially collapsed. Still other prior cartons have side wall portionsthat are inwardly deformable to provide a one-directi0n restraintagainst movement of a contained article.

However, none of these cartons is capable of engaging and retainingfilled squeeze tubes in such a manner that neither axial movement ineither direction nor rotation of the tube within the container can takeplace.

Therefore, an object of this invention is to provide a protective sleevefor filled squeeze tubes so constructed that a tube contained therein isfirmly restrained both against axial movement in either direction andagainst relative rotation with respect thereto whereby to prevent damageto the tube during handling and shipping prior to use by the ultimatepurchaser.

Another object of this invention is to provide a protective sleeve ofthe character stated that is formed from a single blank of paperboard orthe like and includes side wall portions adjacent one end that areinwardly deformable to define double thickness flaps that contact andare tangential to the conical shoulder of the dispensing end of thesqueeze tube and have their inner ends engaged beneath the lip of thetube cap.

Another object of this invention is to provide a protective sleeve ofthe character stated in which two opposed walls at one end are notchedto receive and retain the flat crimped end of the squeeze tube.

Another object of this invention is to provide a protective sleeve ofthe character stated that can be die cut with a minimum of waste andeasily formed on a standard folder-gluer into a flattened tube forshipment and storage prior to use.

A further object of this invention is to provide a novel method forcombining a filled squeeze tube with the pro- 3,334,222 Patented May 21,1968 "ice tective sleeve in which the flat sleeve is first opened intouniform cross-section, then the squeeze tube is partly inserted thereindispensing end first with its crimped end aligned with the end notchesthereof, and then the deformable end of the sleeve is firmly but lightlytapped against a rigid horizontal surface to cause the squeeze tube tobecome fully inserted therein by gravity and simultaneously to cause theflaps defined by the inwardly deformable wall portions to engage theconical shoulder of the tube with their ends engaged beneath the lip ofthe tube cap.

With these and other objects, the nature of which will become apparent,the invention will be more fully understood by reference to thedrawings, the detailed description and the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a fiat die cut blank for the protective sleeveof this invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan View of the flattened sleeve formed from the blank ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of the completed package;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary top plan view of the left end portion of thepackage of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a right end elevation of the package of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary horizontal section taken along line 5of FIG. 5 and shows the engagernent of the inwardly projecting flapsagainst the conical shoulder of the contained tube and beneath the lipof the tube cap;

FIG. 7 is an eleva-tional view illustrating the initial step inassembling the complete package; and

FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 7 but showing how the tube becomescompletely inserted and locked within the sleeve as the result of firmlytapping the entire unit axially against a rigid surface.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the invention as illustrated isembodied in a polygonal cross-sectional protective sleeve formed from arectangular blank generally indicated 5 cut from coated or uncoatedpaperboard or the like and includes a plurality of vertical equallyspaced parallel score lines 6 defining a plurality of wall panels 7 anda glue flap 8. The lower edges of a selected pair of wall panels are diecut to define a pair of longitudinal notches 9, 9 that become disposedin parallelism when the protective sleeve :is formed and opened and areadapted to receive and retain the end portions of the crimped seal ofthe contained squeeze tube as will be hereinafter more fully described.

The upper portion of the blank 5 is die cut along each of the wallpanels 7 to define a pair of symmetrically opposed trapezoidal flaps 10,16 having their bases foldable about a pair of spaced parallelhorizontal score lines 11, 11 and their tops foldable about a commonscore line 12 which may be reverse scored and at least partly prebrokenduring the die cutting in order to assure that the flaps will deforminwardly rather than outwardly when the formed and opened sleeve isaxially collapsed.

The heights of the trapezoidal flaps 10 are determined by the slopedistance along the conical shoulder of the contained squeeze tube to thecap-covered neck thereof. In some cases it may be desirable to have thelower flaps 10 very slightly higher than the upper flaps 10 in order toforce the folded flaps naturally to assume positions in planes away froma transverse plane across the completed sleeve rather than being forcedinto such positions when the squeeze tube is inserted in the protectivesleeve.

In order to avoid multiple thickness of the flap 10 at that wall 7underlapped by the glue flap 8, the glue flap is relieved as at 13 forthe combined heights of the The length of the walls '7 extending fromthe upper score line 11 to the end of the blank should be at leastsufiicient to extend slightly beyond the cap of the con tained squeezetube when the package is completely assembled.

After the blank has been folded and glued into the fiat sleeve of FIG.2, the flat sleeve may be said to have a main body portion generallyindicated 14 and an axially collapsible front end portion generallyindicated 15.

When the flat sleeve has been opened into a sleeve of substantiallyuniform cross-section it is ready to receive and retain a filled squeezetube 16 having a crim-ped closure 17 at its filling end and a conicalend shoulder 13, dispensing neck 19 and threaded closure cap 20 at itsdispensing end. As indicated in FIGS 7 and 8 of the drawings, the filledsqueeze tube 16 first has the greater part of its length inserted intothe body portion 14 of the protective sleeve with the crimped closure 17aligned with the notches 9. Then, while being maintained in a verticalposition, the entire unit is firmly tapped against a rigid surface tocause the squeeze tube to be jolted into its fully inserted positionwithin the protective sleeve and simultaneously to cause the sleeve endportion 15 to collapse axially and the trapezoidal flaps to be inwardlydeformed (see FIG. 6) to define a plurality of inwardly projectingdouble thickness retaining flaps, each of which has its inner endengaged against the tube neck 19 and beneath the lip of the cap 20 and asurface portion tangentially engaging the conical shoulder 18 of thesqueeze tube.

It should be mentioned that the axial collapse of the end portion alsocushions the jolting force applied to the squeeze tube and prevents theshoulder 18 thereof from becoming dented as it is brought toward andinto contact with the inwardly projecting double thickness flaps 10.

In this fully assembled position, the squeeze tube is prevented fromdropping out of or being withdrawn from the rear end of the protectivesleeve by the double thickness flaps 10, 10; and is prevented fromdropping out of or being withdrawn from the front end of the protectivesleeve both by the engagement of the flat sealed end 17 of the squeezetube within the notches 9 and by the resistance afforded by theface-to-face contact between the shoulder 18 and the flaps 10 while theends of the flaps 10 are locked beneath the lip of the cap 20.

However, when it is desired to remove the squeeze tube fromthe packageas at the point of ultimate use, it is only necessary to draw the sleeveend portion 15 axially away from the body portion 14 to unlock andflatten out the flaps 10 enough to permit the ready withdrawal of thesqueeze tube.

Another advantage resulting from the use of the protective sleeve ofthis invention arises during a secondary packaging operation in whichthe sleeve-protected squeeze tubes are inserted into individual foldingcartons of square cross-section so that they may be uniformly packed inmultiples in a master shipping container. Heretofore the squeeze tubesgenerally have been covered by simple cylindrical sleeves in which thecrimped ends of the squeeze tubes were randomly oriented with respect toa horizontal plane when set on a packing table preparatory to insertionin the folding cartons. This required the extra step Cir of aligning thecrimped ends of the tubes with the diagonals of the cartons before theycould be freely inserted. However, in the present instance theprotective sleeves and their contained tubes can always be set on thepacking table on a selected fiat side so that the crimped ends of thetubes are all oriented in a direction corresponding to a diagonal of thefolding cartons, thus facilitating and speeding up their insertion intothe folding cartons.

Although, for the purposes of illustrating the invention a hexagonalprotective sleeve has been shown, it will be appreciated that theprinciples of this invention are applicable to other polygonic shapes solong as the double thickness inwardly projecting flaps 10, 10 aresufiiciently strong to perform their locking and restraining function.

It is, of course, to be understood that variations in arrangements andproportions may be made within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

11. A protective package for a filled squeeze tube of the type having acrimped seal at one end and a conical shoulder at its other endterminating in a dispensing neck covered by a cap, comprising a sleeveof polygonal crosssection formed from a single blank of foldable sheetmaterial and including a plurality of Walls defined by spaced parallelscore lines, the walls adjacent one end being die cut to define aplurality of pairs of symmetrically opposed generally trapezoidal flapsfold able about score lines at right angles to those defining said wallsto define, in the completed sleeve, a plurality of integrally formedinwardly extendable flaps arranged to be in tangential contact with theconical shoulder of said squeeze tube with their inner ends engageablebeneath the lip of the cap of said tube whereby to lock said squeezetube against axial movement in either direction, two spaced walls at theother end of said blank being die cut to define, in the completedsleeve, a pair of opposed notches for receiving and retaining the endportions of the crimped seal of said squeeze tube whereby to lock saidsqueeze tube against rotary movement with respect to said sleeve.

2. The protective package .of claim -1 in which the heights of saidgenerally trapezoidal flaps are substantially equal to the slope lengthof the conical shoulder of said squeeze tube from the outer edge thereofto said dispensing neck.

3. The protective package of claim 2 in which the cross-section of saidsleeve is a polygon having an equal number of sides.

'4. The protective package of claim .3 in which the cross-section ofsaid sleeve is 'a hexagon.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,16 4,48 6 5 1964 V0 orhies.

FOREIGN PATENTS 525,276 1/ 1954 Belgium.

OTHER REFERENCES German printed application No. D14,781, December 1955,Gesellschaft, Class 206, Subclass 46(M).

MARTHA L. RICE, Primary Examiner,

